Shield of Olympus
by Love-The-Spaz
Summary: The Olympians and their children at Camp Half-Blood are recovering from the Battle of Manhattan, but when a new threat looms, can Percy Jackson lead them from destruction once again?
1. Chapter 1

**Shield of Olympus**

 **Takes place sometime in between The Last Olympian and The Lost Hero. The new three from the lost hero will still be in the story. So yeah. Enjoy**

 **LTS**

 **The Olympians and their children at Camp Half-Blood are recovering from the Battle of Manhattan, but when a new threat looms, can Percy Jackson lead them from destruction once again?**

* * *

" **Percy!"** Annabeth ran towards the son of Poseidon, who sat still on the beach overlooking the lake, her blonde hair trailing behind her as she ran in the wind. Annabeth's worn tennis shoes kicked up sand behind her, creating a wake of sorts.

"Why weren't you at breakfast?" She asked her boyfriend, slowing to a stop near him as she prepared to sit down with him.

He turned away from her, looking back at the water. "I just wasn't hungry today." He lied. It had been 3 months since the end of the Titan war, and he had been reflecting on those who had been lost in the crossfire.

Annabeth knelt next to the boy, gently grabbing his chin in one hand and turning his face to look at hers. "Hey. Don't take it too hard. It's not your fault. If you're not feeling better by this afternoon, come find me, and we'll hang out." She kissed him gently on the cheek as she finished her sentence.

Percy gave a forced smile, hoping to convince his girlfriend that he was fine. "That sounds nice. I'll see you later, okay?"

Annabeth stood to her feet, "Okay!" She agreed, turning to leave. Percy watched her jog towards cabin six, smiling sadly.

He stood to his feet, facing the water once more. He shed his shirt, tossing the light blue piece of fabric to the side. He stretched his arms, letting a groan escape his lips as he heard his shoulder pop. Letting his arms fall down to his side, he took a running leap at the lake.

With a large splash, he submerged into the water, instantly feeling rejuvenated by the clear liquid. Delving deeper into the water, he noticed that there were fewer fish swimming near the surface than usual. "Huh." Percy muttered to himself, swimming toward the ocean floor to investigate, "they're not usually this shy."

As he hit bottom, the demigod noticed a large catfish swimming toward him. "Perseus. Heed my message."

"C'mon Dad! A catfish? Really? You of all people should know that they are literal bottom feeders." Percy exasperatedly sighed, focusing in on the creature.

The fish ignored the boy, instead revisiting its warning. "My son, there are dark forces looming. When hard times overcome the world, wildlife is the first to realize the threat before us, and the creatures of my kingdom are becoming restless."

Percy nodded quickly, agreeing with his father's statement. "Yeah, I know. I could hardly find any fish in the lake today."

The catfish swayed its tail to and fro as it delivered its final message, "My boy, I do not believe an enemy would attack the camp so soon after the second Titanomachy. However, that is the reason you must remain alert, and ready, if not for your sake, then for the sake of your fellow half-bloods. I have not been able to contact Olympus to converse with the other gods on this matter, but I will travel there as soon as the creatures of my domain are calmed. Farewell, Perseus." The catfish swam away, leaving the raven-haired half-blood alone to mull over the cryptic message…

* * *

 **Annabeth** sat on her bed, reading the new book Chiron had found for her. The elderly centaur and the daughter of Athena had created a system to attain new books to satiate the girl's thirst for knowledge. Chiron would take up any old or unused books from the other campers, and when Annabeth would finish a book, she would ask her mentor and he would grant her a new one.

Annabeth' reading was interrupted by a sudden, frantic banging on cabin six's door. With a groan, Annabeth rose to her feet and began to make her way to the door. Swinging the door open, Annabeth was greeted with the pale face of Nico di Angelo. "Hey Nico! What do you need?"

As she verbalized her question, the shorter boy looked past her, seemingly searching for something, a frown dawning on his face as he couldn't find what he was looking for. "Damn. I was hoping he would be here."

Annabeth began to be worried by the younger half-blood's mannerisms. "Who would be here? Nico is something going on?"

The spawn of Hades looked up at Annabeth for the first time, and she fully took in his features. Dark bags had begun to grow under his brown eyes, and his face seemed even paler than usual, which frightened the daughter of Athena. He had allowed his hair to grow out, even letting it cover one of his eyes, and there were various scratches scattered around his face, as if he was used to being in fights.

"I was hoping Percy would be here." The boy answered, using his hand to brush his hair out of his eyes. "The dead have gotten… antsy, recently, and I'm afraid that something bad is coming. They're saying all these things about the dawn of a new age, and how the fall of Olympus was going to happen soon. I'm scared, and I feel like I need to warn Percy, or at least make sure he's heard about it." The son of Hades finished, feeling slightly winded from his spiel.

Nico's message was very closely followed by a long, deep boom from the conch horn. Annabeth looked at Nico, "If he's within five miles, he definitely knows something's here. We're under attack."

Nico's eyes widened, and he spun, sprinting toward Half-Blood Hill, with Annabeth following closely behind him. As she neared the hill, she saw that a crowd had already formed, demigods from the less confrontational cabins preferring to stay near the rear of the group. As Annabeth and Nico nudged their way to the front of the mass, and the leader of cabin six realized that Clarisse was in a staredown with the male spearheading the enemy forces.

Clearing his throat, the man stepped forward and spoke in a loud, commanding tone, "My name is Victor Ogletree. I am under orders to commandeer this camp in the name of my liege. If you refuse to surrender peacefully, we will be forced to sequestrate this location using force. The choice is yours."

Annabeth began more frantic in her quest to make it to the front of the gathering of half-bloods, fearing that Clarisse would do something rash. As Annabeth neared the daughter of Ares, the leader of cabin five took a few steps toward the man. "If you think we're gonna give this place up without a fight, you're just a plain old dumbass."

The man chuckled loudly, shaking his head as he mulled over her comment. "So, I assume you consider yourself the leader of this would-be army." He spoke loudly, clearly very disdainful in his tone.

Clarisse raised her chin, clearly emboldened, knowing the exact answer she was going to give. "Yeah. You got that right, jackass."

Victor smiled, very clearly pleased with the response to his question. He dropped the cloak around his shoulders to the ground, revealing a sheathed sword at his side. However, despite his clear intention of engaging in battle with the demigods, Annabeth saw no other armor or weapons. "That is an absolute delight, dear. I believe it would only be fair for you and me to engage in single combat."

Clarisse was clearly disheartened by his suggestion, her shoulders drooping slightly and she looked back to her other cabin mates nervously. One of her siblings gave her a stern look, and the daughter of Ares turned back to Victor. "How do you know my army won't attack you during our fight?"

The man let out a second string of laughter, this time much louder than the last. He took nearly fifteen seconds to calm himself, then addressed her question confidently, "My dear, it's very simple. If your army attacks me, my monsters will attack your army, and I very much believe the odds are completely in my favor."

Clarisse took what he said into account, but before she could reply to his statement, he continued. "However, if you are not brave enough to accept my challenge, you could simply cower in the shadows as my army tears your precious camp apart."

Both armies could see that those words struck a chord in the daughter of Ares. She spun on her heel, staring daggers at one of her siblings. "Get me my spear." She snapped. Her half-brother quickly retrieved her spear, passing it up through the crowd until it got to the brunette.

She slowly turned back to Victor, gripping her weapon tightly as she scowled. Her spear crackled with electricity, "I'll enjoy watching the light fade from your eyes." She snarled.

Victor laughed, the reaction further angering the daughter of Ares, and then replied, "You'll never get the chance."

Clarisse let out a yell of rage, charging forward to meet the man in battle. She stabbed straight at Victor, letting out a growl of annoyance as he easily sidestepped the thrust. She spun, her foot sliding slightly in the grass, and lunged for the man. She swung her spear, akin to how one would swing a baseball bat, at her opponent. As the spear neared the man, he shocked both watching parties, catching the weapon at the spot just before the shaft met the spearpoint. As electricity coursed through the spear, he seemed to absorb the voltage, and Clarisse gaped at the feat of power. He let loose a roar, all of the electricity he had absorbed escaping from his body, shooting through the spear and striking the daughter of Ares. She flew back nearly twenty feet, crashing to the ground and uprooting much of the grass and dirt.

Still holding onto the spear, he observed the weapon. "Such a shame to waste such a magnificent weapon. A masterpiece of destruction such as this deserves an owner who can wield it properly, not the rage-ridden mistake of a holder it had previously. Alas, she'll have no need for it soon." He snapped the weapon over his knee, dropping it carelessly in his wake.

Clarisse was now on her knees, watching the wrecking of the weapon which had been gifted to her by her patron with rage. She drew the sword on her thigh, dashing towards Victor. She swung at his neck, but the man ducked under the blow, spinning and drawing his sword in the same movement.

She stabbed at his chest, the man waiting several seconds until he deflected the thrust with the flat of his blade, knocking her arm high into the air. She stumbled backwards several steps, and Victor took the offensive for the first time in their duel. He swung directly at her blade, slicing through as if the steel were butter. Clarisse was only given a second to stare at the blade of her sword on the ground, and absorb that she was only wielding a hilt, before Victor interrupted her stupor by kicking her in the chest with his boot.

Clarisse flew backwards, rolling over herself until she ended up on her knees, head held low to the ground. The man sauntered behind the daughter of Ares, gripping her brown hair tightly, and jerked her head up so that she could stare at the crowd of stunned half-bloods. "Look! Look at your champion, demigods. Her vanity has sealed her fate, and her failures will seal yours!"

Clarisse's hand slowly drifted to her boot, where she had a knife hidden. Grasping the hilt, she stabbed upwards in hopes of striking her opponent. He caught her wrist with the hand that was not holding her hair. He hissed through his teeth, at a level only those two could hear, "You could have lost the fight with dignity. Now, not only have you disgraced yourself, you've disgraced the pig you call your father."

Twisting her wrist, he snapped it loudly enough for both parties to hear. Clarisse let out a loud cry of pain, which dissipated into a pathetic whimper. He dropped her arm to her side, leaving it limp, and then grabbed his sword with the hand that had been holding her wrist.

"Kill them all," he growled as he sliced deep into her neck, dropping her bleeding body to the ground and leaving her to die.

* * *

 **When** Percy emerged from the crystal water of the lake, he heard lots of commotion, along with the sight of a large mass of campers in the distance. "What in Hades?" He asked audibly, taking off at a frantic pace.

As the son of the sea god neared the group, he began to discern the noises as fighting. He ran up to the back of the crowd, near a camper who he recognized to be Travis Stoll. "Travis." He hissed. "What the hell is going on here?"

The son of Hermes whirled around, eyes wide and slightly teary. "A guy walked up to the camp with a bunch of monsters. He challenged Clarisse to a fight."

Percy began to regain his composure, sure that Clarisse could succeed at her one skill: fighting. "She's getting her ass kicked." Travis finished, his voice choking up a bit.

Percy realized that the twin was beginning to get unraveled. "Hey!" He exclaimed. "If she's losing this, we're gonna need every camper on their game if any of us wanna make it out of here."

As Percy finished his pep talk, he heard the sound of metal slicing through flesh, followed by a simple command. "Kill them all."

The roar of an army of monsters erupted from Half-Blood Hill in every direction as the beastly battalion charged toward the campers. When the creatures hit the first line of campers, it wasn't even a slightly fair fight. They tore through the primary defenses, the strength of the monsters overwhelmed the demigods, leaving many of them dead, and many more lying on the ground, wounded and in agony.

The campers dissipated rapidly, all of them retreating further into the camp. As they ran, Percy bellowed orders to the army of half-bloods, "CAMPERS! THIS IS YOUR HOME! IF WE DO NOT FIGHT BACK, THEY WILL TAKE IT FROM YOU, AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO ALLOW THAT!"

Percy's brief speech of encouragement immediately inspired the campers, causing them to give a chorus of agreements as they ceased their retreat, ready to stand their ground and defend their home. As the monsters advanced on the half-bloods, Percy let out a growl, his eyes narrowing as he spotted one of the first monsters he ever killed, the half-bull, otherwise known as the minotaur.

The beast was apparently on the same train of thought, finding Percy with its eyes and roaring when it had accomplished its task. It charged forward, undoubtedly straight for the son of Poseidon. Percy didn't wait for the monster to come to him, however, the son of the sea god dashing toward the creature.

The minotaur struck first, raising its double-sided axe high above its head and smashing down at the demigod. The attack was unsuccessful, however, as Percy rolled out of the way of the strike. The force of the blow firmly planted and trapped the weapon in the earth, and Percy took this chance to jump onto the shaft of the weapon and race up toward the handle.

As the son of Poseidon neared the minotaur's hands, the monster still trying to dislodge the axe from the ground, he leapt high into the air, launching all the way to land between the beast's horns. Grabbing Riptide in an icepick grip, he held the weapon in both hands, bellowing, "FOR OLYMPUS!" For both armies to hear, before plunging the sword into the minotaur's skull.

Not bothering to retrieve the blade from the monster's head, Percy vaulted off of the beast as it toppled onto its back. The demigod fell toward the earth, windmilling his arms as if trying to slow his landing. As the son of the sea god came to a stop, both of his feet met the chest of an empousai, softening his crash. The monster's chest was collapsed, and Percy didn't miss a beat, stealing the deceased creature's sword and racing forward.

The first monster to meet the son of Poseidon was a cyclops. It attacked in a similar manner to the minotaur, trying to smash Percy from above. This time, however, the son of the sea god simply lopped off the hand holding the weapon. The cyclops was stunned by the demigod's literal disarm, and Percy used this opportunity to decapitate the beast.

As the half-blood caught his breath, his eyes found a man dressed in dark clothing on the battlefield, watching helplessly as he ran through three of Percy's campmates in seconds. The son of Poseidon had now recovered from his fight, charging at the stranger with an enraged roar. Percy's first swing was a wild slash from the side, which the man parried with ease. The son of the sea god struck again, attacking in a diagonal motion. This time, his opponent deflected the blow with more force, knocking the half-blood's arm away, then blasting him in the chest with his boot.

Percy was surprised by the power in the man's kick, rolling nearly twenty feet as a result. "Percy!" The downed demigod raised his head groggily, taking in the sight of Nico di Angelo. The son of Hades ran over to him, helping Percy into a sitting position. The son of Poseidon grasped his friend's shoulder, "Nico, you need to take the surviving camper's into the forest. Create a divide from the rest of the camp. I'll handle the rest afterwards."

The younger demigod seemed hesitant, "But Percy, I can fight!" He protested, wanting to remain in the action.

Percy gave him a stern look, "I know you can. But right now, our primary goal is surviving another day, and we can't do that the way we look right now. You're the only one of us who can do this job, and Nico, we might not get out of this alive if you don't."

The son of Hades took a breath. "Okay Percy. I'll try. What are you going to do?"

The son of the sea god gave a nervous smile, "I'm kind of trying to figure that out as we speak. If you can get this done, I'm sure you'll find out."

Nico nodded twice in quick succession, trying to reassure Percy by shooting a grin his way, before running off to accomplish the task thrust upon him. The son of Poseidon slowly stood up after his conversation with the di Angelo was finished, turning back to rejoin the battle.

Percy didn't have to wait long, spotting a hellhound bounding toward him almost as soon as he was on his feet. Once the creature was within range, it pounced at the son of Poseidon. Percy knew his time frame was slim, so he quickly moved to a point under the monster. As the beast descended, the demigod raised his sword, stabbing the hellhound through the stomach as it fell.

Percy hefted the lifeless carcass off of himself, sliding the sword out of the creature. His momentary rest period was brief, another empousai nocking an arrow and aiming at the son of Poseidon. "Don't move, demigod." It hissed.

Percy sighed, turning and running at the monster. The empousai fired, striking the son of the sea god in the shoulder. Percy was determined, however, and the arrow barely even hindered his speed. The half-blood reached the empousai as her hand moved down, trying to grasp a knife on her thigh. She never finished her quest, her motion cut short as Percy impaled her through the chest with his blade.

The son of Poseidon felt Riptide return to his pocket, so he let go of the hilt of the sword buried in the empousai, giving it a slight push and causing the monster to fall on her back. "Percy!" He heard a whisper. "It's Annabeth. Don't turn around."

"That guy you fought earlier, he's too strong for either of us. I don't know how, but he is. We're going to have to trick him to win. You need to face him head on, while I attack him from the back. I'll be wearing my Yankees hat, so he won't know I'm there." She explained.

Percy nodded. "Sounds good. I'll see you after." He took off toward the man in a sprint, hoping Annabeth would come through on her end of the plan. As Percy neared the stranger, he realized they were near the lake, and he took a mental note of that for later.

"Hey you!" Percy yelled. The man turned. "I want a rematch." An eerie smile grew on the stranger's face as the son of Poseidon walked toward him.

"Perseus, I'm not sure if you know the definition of insanity. If not, I'll enlighten you. An insane person tries something over and over again, expecting a different result. You tried to fight me once. You lost. Or are you just eager to die?" The man taunted the son of the sea god.

Percy grimaced, "The first time we fought, I lost. You're right. However, the first time we fought, I had no idea what skill level you were at. I underestimated you. It won't happen again."

The man threw his head back, laughing obnoxiously. "My master had plans for you. Gave me specific instructions not to kill you. Said she wanted you alive to witness everything around you crumble. She said she wanted to see the hope drain from your eyes. I suppose I'll just have to disappoint her."

Percy drew Riptide from his pocket, uncapping the celestial bronze weapon and charging at his opponent. As he neared, he saw a cyclops fall to an inexistent opponent in his peripheral vision, causing him to smile. In their second clash, the stranger attacked first, thrusting his sword straight at Percy's chest. Percy kept at a constant speed, spinning away from the jab, and stopping when he was behind his foe. The demigod struck fast, slashing at the stranger's shoulder.

The man dropped into a crouch, allowing Riptide to pass harmlessly over him, popping back up near the demigod and launching his fist into Percy's jaw. The son of Poseidon grunted, tumbling to the earth. The man flashed a toothy smile, slowly stalking the grounded half-blood.

Suddenly, a cry of anger came from thin air, Annabeth materializing as her hat fell from her head to the earth below. The stranger whirled around, faster than mortal man or demigod could move, stabbing his sword through the daughter of Athena's midsection.

" **NO!**!" Percy screamed in anguish, watching helplessly as his love was murdered by an invader. A loud, obnoxious laughter came from his beloved's murderer, echoing throughout the camp. Percy felt a familiar rush in the pit of his stomach, the water from the lake rushing to life.

Percy rose to his feet as the water surrounding him, lifting him high above the ground as the liquid whirled in a circular motion around him at hurricane-like speeds. "YOU HAVE INVADED MY HOME! YOU HAVE MURDERED MY FRIENDS! YOU HAVE MURDERED THE LOVE OF MY LIFE! NOW YOU SHALL PAY FOR YOUR SINS! YOU SHALL ALL PAY!"

Using his arms to control the water, the son of the sea god lashed out at the remaining monsters, sending tendrils of rapid water to vaporize the hellacious creations in droves. Once all of the beasts had been removed, he focused his energy on the stranger. He blasted him over and over again, knocking the unfamiliar man nearly one hundred yards away from the enraged son of Poseidon.

The man regained his footing. "ENOUGH!" He thundered. "We will meet again, Perseus." He raised his right hand, vanishing with a bolt of lightning.

Slowly, Percy lowered himself to the ground, the water retreating back into the lake, and gazed upon the fallen daughter of Athena with saddened eyes. He raced to her side, dropping to his knees. He grasped her lifeless hand with both of his, dropping his head onto her stomach and openly weeping.

Nico led the remaining campers over to where the pair was. He laid one hand on Percy's shoulder, giving him a moment to grieve before speaking. "Percy, where should the rest of the campers go?"

Percy raised his head slightly, but rather than look at Nico, he stared at Annabeth's unmoving face. "Take the vans we use to go to Olympus for the winter solstice. Head to Olympus. I'll be there when I'm done here." He rasped.

Nico swallowed, turning around and taking charge of the campers. "Okay, you heard him. If you're older than sixteen and know how to drive, take a van. The rest of you, divide up and make sure you get in. We want everybody in a van!"

As the campers left Percy alone, he reached into his pocket, still holding Annabeth's hand with one of his own, and pulled out a box. "Here," he spoke, his voice giving out on the last consonant of the word.

"Remember when you asked me why I missed breakfast? I was thinking of how to propose. Annabeth, I-" His voice cracked once again, and he sighed. "You told me one time, that you wanted to have your wedding in the big house, surrounded by all of your friends and family. I wish we could have had that. I wish you were still here. I wish we could have grown old together. I wish that we could have had kids. I know you wanted a girl, and I would have loved her so much, because she would have been yours. But now, none of that can happen. I love you Annabeth. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to win. If I had been, you wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place. And it's all because I wasn't good enough. I failed you Annabeth. I'm so sorry…"

His voice trailed off, and the son of Poseidon slouched over once again, sobbing. He laid his head onto the daughter of Athena's stomach and weeped until he eventually fell asleep there. And there they lay, Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson, sleeping next to each other for the last time.

* * *

 **An hour** and a half later, Percy was awoken from his slumber by an Iris Message. Sullenly, he lifted his head, greeted by the pale visage of Nico di Angelo. "Hey Nico." He rasped, "What do you need?"

The son of Hades frowned, "Sorry to wake you, but there's a problem on Olympus. They won't let us talk to them for some reason."

Percy glanced down at Annabeth's body then sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Ok Nico. I'll be there as soon as I can. Don't try to breach the throne room until I get there, okay?"

The younger demigod looked pitifully at Percy, feeling immense sorrow for the son of Poseidon. "Will do, man. And, you don't need to rush here. Handle your business over there and come when you're ready."

Percy nodded, sweeping an arm through the message and cancelling the connection. "Ok, Annabeth, looks like we're going to Olympus."

* * *

Nearly forty-five minutes later, Percy Jackson was on Olympus, toting the corpse of Annabeth Chase bridal style.

Nico's head shot up as the elevator doors opened, shocked that Percy made it to the city of gods so quickly. "How did you get here? It took us twice your time!"

Percy barely even glanced at him. "I swam here. Nearly scared a couple to death when they saw an eighteen year-old walk out of the Hudson carrying a dead body."

The son of Hades looked down, staring at the deceased daughter of Athena. "Why-why did you bring her?"

Percy glared down at Nico, making it clear he did not want to talk about Annabeth. The son of Hades looked up at the demigod, and for the first time, realized that Percy had been crying even more than he thought. "She deserves a proper resting place."

Without waiting for a response, the son of Poseidon marched toward the large doors leading to the throne room. Still holding Annabeth, he channelled water from a nearby fountain, charging his energy before launching it into the doors, blasting them completely off of their hinges. The son of Poseidon strolled confidently into the throne room, "Hi, family. I hope you've been well."

Athena stood up indignantly, preparing to berate Percy. Realizing that the body he was carrying was her daughter, she screamed, "What have you done to her?"

The son of the sea god controlled some of the water he'd used to open the doors, creating ice shards and aiming them at Athena. "Take another step. I dare you." Athena sat down, and Percy gently set Annabeth on the marble floor. "Do any of you know what happened today?"

The demigod waited nearly twenty seconds for an answered, but received none. He gave a loud, bitter snort. "Of course not. Why would I expect the almighty to pay attention to such mere things like their children's lives?"

Apollo held out a hand to silence the angry half-blood, "What are you talking about Percy?"

Percy sent a murderous glare in his direction, and the sun god sank slightly in his throne. "We were attacked. I think they were targeting me, because the minotaur was there, and the leader of this army said his master had plans for me."

Zeus interrupted the demigod this time, "But you defeated your foes, correct? There is nothing else to worry about?"

The son of Poseidon grimaced, looking down at Annabeth's body. "I want her put in the stars."

"You realize that is asking no small feat of us," Hera protested, "it is not easy to place a body in the stars."

"It was no small feat when she saved Olympus, but she did it, and now she's dead!" Percy exclaimed.

Athena waved off the elder Olympian, "It will be done, Perseus. She will have a place among the constellations. Now please, continue with your story."

Percy drew in a breath, collecting himself before resuming his tale. "It was very nearly a massacre. We were unprepared for battle, and their leader was stronger than anything I'd ever fought before. One of the demigods mentioned his name was Victor." Athena paled at this, but Percy didn't notice, "I had to summon more power than I ever have to fight them off, and their leader still escaped." Percy looked up at Zeus in a fiery glare. "He vanished in a flash of lightning."

Zeus, however, did not look as if he knew about a child he had sired. "I have no recollection of breaking my oath. We will go into this later, however." He finished, sending a pointed look at Hera. He turned to look at the son of Poseidon. "You must have come to Olympus with a request, correct?"

Percy looked down at Annabeth once again, summoning his courage before making one final request. "I want the power to prevent this from ever happening again. I want to ensure that no half-blood has the helpless feeling I just experienced."

The throne room was briefly enveloped in commotion, before Zeus silenced the ten present Olympians, excluding Hestia, who was seated in her constant position at the hearth. "Perseus, if you would go outside while we come to a decisive conclusion. We will go to meet you outside."

The son of Poseidon nodded slowly, trudging out of the room and back to the grouping of demigods. Nico looked up as he heard footsteps, "How'd it go?"

Percy shrugged sullenly, "I guess we'll find out in a few minutes, but I think it went just about how I expected it to."

The older demigod took a seat next to Nico, resting his head against the pillar and closing his eyes, preparing himself for the worst.

Ten minutes passed before the Olympians walked out as a group, Zeus leading the way. "Perseus Jackson," he began, projecting his voice in all directions, "you will be an immortal."

 **So yeah. I think that was a good first chapter. I'll try to make chapters longer after this, just to be nice. There won't be a Percy pairing in this story, because his girlfriend literally just got put in the stars and now she'll be able to watch his every movement. SO, uhh read and review, and have a nice year.**

 **LTS**


	2. Chapter 2

**Percy emerged** from the marble throne room, standing straighter than he ever had before. Nico was the first to confront him after his immortalization, "Hey Perce. Are you taller than you were?"

The newest immortal looked at the son of Hades, and had to look further down than he usually would. "You bet he is!" The god of the sun appeared seemingly out of nowhere, wrapping one tanned arm around Percy's shoulder. "He's an immortal now! Not a god, mind you, but you're the next best thing."

The son of Poseidon turned to Apollo, trying to shrug the archer's arm off of his shoulder without the son of Zeus noticing, "Do I get any other perks because of my new condition?"

Apollo put on a thoughtful face, "Hmm… Well, you get taller, faster, stronger, better looking, you bleed ichor now, you can teleport, but like, instead of doing it like gods do, you travel through moisture in the air… I think that's it. Oh! You also have increased control over the powers that you had before. Basically, you can do even cooler water stuff more often."

Percy grinned thoughtfully, nodding slowly as he imagined the capabilities. "Oh Pe-ercy!" A feminine voice singsonged. Aphrodite sashayed through, "I need to talk to you in my room." She said, poking her index finger into his chest as she enunciated 'you'.

Without waiting for a response, the love goddess sauntered off, making sure to put an extra sway into her hips as she did so. Apollo laughed, clapping Percy on the back, making the son of Poseidon wince slightly. "There's one more perk; girls."

Percy groaned, trudging along to follow the goddess of beauty to her room. He arrived at her door, knocking three times. The son of the sea god waited several seconds, but received no answer. He looked around, making sure no one was watching him, before opening her door and entering the room.

The first thing that Percy noticed was that this room was very pink, almost inducing a reflexive gag from the son of Poseidon. The male navigated his way throughout the room, making sure not to touch anything before sitting down in the nearest chair, which just so happened to be a loveseat.

Aphrodite re-entered the room from the hallway, no longer dressed in the violet dress she had adorned outside. Instead, she was wearing an incredibly skimpy pink bikini. "I'm so glad you decided to join me. And you even chose my favorite seat."

She sashayed over to the loveseat, laying herself across Percy's lap. Just seconds after sitting down, she began to rub herself on the former mortal. The son of Poseidon immediately became uncomfortable, attempting to rise from the chair.

Aphrodite gripped Percy's shoulders, overpowering him and forcing the male to remain planted in the seat. "Don't even try, honey. You might be an immortal, but I'm an Olympian," she reasoned, putting extra emphasis on the last word.

Percy gave up his efforts, pleasing Aphrodite, and the goddess draped her arms around his shoulders, laying her cheek on his chest. As she got comfortable, the Olympian even began purring, akin to the noise a cat would make. The son of Poseidon cleared his throat loudly, "WELL," he began loudly, clearly still very uncomfortable in the hypothetical position she'd placed him in, "you invited me in here because you needed something from me, correct?"

Aphrodite opened her eyes, sending a momentary glare at the other immortal in the room, then sat up, "I was enjoying that." She pouted. Percy gave her a look, and she sighed. "I have a daughter that will be traveling to the Grand Canyon today, accompanied by two other demigods. One is a son of Hephaestus, my old sweetheart, and I haven't placed the other yet. I would greatly appreciate it, and even possibly reward you," Aphrodite stared at Percy's lips, making the underlying meaning of the last phrase clear, "if you would locate these three and bring them to wherever the rest of your demigod friends will be staying from now on."

The son of Poseidon nodded, "If that's all, then am I free to leave?"

The goddess of love mulled over his question, then ducked in quickly to kiss Percy on the cheek. She hopped off of his lap, "There's more of that coming when you get back." She pulled the son of Poseidon hurriedly off of her love seat, rushing him to the door and shoving him into one of Olympus's walkways.

Percy absentmindedly rubbed the spot on his cheek where she kissed him, turning right into a punch. The newest immortal fell to the ground, rolling over once into a crouched position. He spit blood out of his mouth, grinning as he saw ichor instead, before looking up, staring into the fiery eyes of the war god. "Resorting to sucker punches, Ares? I didn't think you were that afraid of me."

The Olympian ignored him, "You think just cause you're immortal now means you can get with my girl? I'm about to teach you a lesson, runt."

Percy stood to his full height, grinning even wider when he realized he and Ares were the same height. "I'm not sure you're much good for teaching."

The war god roared in anger, swinging a wild fist at the son of Poseidon. The former demigod ducked under the blow, spinning on a dime and decking Ares right in his jaw. The god stumbled back a few feet as a result of the strike. He spat, shaking off the pain and charging at Percy. The war god lowered his shoulder, attempting to tackle the son of Poseidon. The newest Olympian performed a matador-like movement, jumping out of harm's way in the last second. Ares did not realize Percy had moved, continuing to charge until he crashed into a pillar, collapsing it on top of himself and knocking himself unconscious.

Percy took a moment to admire his handiwork as he caught his breath. As he began to leave, an idea popped into his head, and he changed course, going to search for a pen and paper. Once he had found his desired objects, he scribbled down a note, laying it on top of the wreckage, before dashing off.

Several minutes later, Aphrodite answered a knock on her door. "What?" She demanded.

Athena stood at her door, along with a crowd of Olympus's other residents, looking at the wreck that Ares lay in. "There's a letter for you."

The love goddess sighed, coming out of the doorway to see what had happened. Her lover lay unconscious in a pile of rubble (which she assumed used to be a pillar), a piece of paper covering his face. She picked up the parchment and began to read aloud.

 _To Aphrodite,_

 _Keep a tighter leash on your pet._

 _Signed, Percy_

* * *

 **As Jason** approached the watchtower, flanked by Leo and Piper, he groaned. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Leo slapped his friend on the back, attempting to be encouraging, "Aw Jason! Quit being such a worry wart. It's gonna be fine. We're just gonna go up top in that big tower-thingy, and look down on the great divide. What, are ya scared of heights or something?"

The blonde looked down, shaking his head slowly, "Nah. I just don't feel like if we go up there, we won't get down for a long while."

Piper reached around Jason's back, flicking Leo's ear, before wrapping both of her arms around one of her boyfriend's. "Don't worry Jason," she began softly, "I'll be right beside you the entire way."

The Hispanic boy rubbed his ear, grumbling under his breath. "Yeah, buddy. Kaleidoscope and I'll be stuck to you like gum on a shoe."

Jason attempted a smile, trying to reassure his friends that he was feeling better. "You're right, guys. I'm sure it'll be fine."

When the trio made it to the entrance of the tower, multiple groups of students had already been loaded into the elevators. The three got onto the elevator as the last set to go up, alone except for Coach Hedge. "Hey cupcakes. Excited to see the canyon?"

Piper looked up. She felt like the man didn't like her very much, but she smiled at him politely, "Yes sir."

Hedge seemed to be insulted by her words. "That's Coach to you, cupcake."

A ding rang out as the elevator doors opened, revealing a large open room, with no furniture to be found. There were windows where walls should be, making it much easier to observe the canyon.

Several minutes later, students were filtered into the elevator, and taken back to the buses. The trio were the last on the floor, along with Coach Hedge, and a group of strangers and their cat. Leo noticed this, "Hey! Do they allow pets in here?"

The largest female in the party stepped forward, "Leo Valdez. We have been observing you."

"Uh, cool. Yeah. That's not disconcerting or creepy at all," The Hispanic boy spoke, slowly backing away from them.

As Leo backed away, the cat grew larger, "Uh, guys?" Leo exclaimed, "That's a lion!"

Jason and Piper spun around, and the humans in the group transformed into winged beasts. Coach Hedge began unbuttoning his pants, and Piper screamed, "This is definitely NOT the time to get naked!"

The man ignored her, shedding his pants and revealing a pair of very hairy legs, "Those're harpies, cupcake. You'll need me for this one."

As he finished his sentence, the elevators dinged once again, this time revealing one passenger. A raven-haired man dressed in dark jeans and a t-shirt stepped out of the lift, brandishing a bronze sword. "Huh. I've already given away one Nemean Lion pelt."

Hedge seemed to recognize the stranger. "I didn't need you, cupcake. I could handle these punks on my own."

The lion seemed to grow agitated by the lack of action, and rushed towards Jason. The quadruplet of harpies followed its lead, two headed for Leo and one each for the coach and Piper. The four retreated, but the monsters kept advancing. The lion lunged, connecting with Jason and sending them both crashing through the window. The others, besides the newest addition to the floor, were pressed against the window, also falling as it broke. The only one not falling roared in anger, "GODS DAMNIT!"

'This is it.' Leo thought as he fell. 'I've survived so much, but ultimately, gravity got the best of me.' He descended face down, staring at the ground as the earth became closer. The Hispanic half-blood was suddenly jerked upward, and he twisted around, seeing the dark-haired stranger from the elevator gripping him by his shirt.

Leo looked back down, and saw water rushing upward towards the two of them, "What the hell?" He screamed.

The stranger and Leo reached the ground, their descent slowed greatly by the water cushion. The man looked up, and growled. The brunette glanced up after his reaction, and was greeted by a strange sight. Jason floated above the ground, holding Piper in his arms. To make things more interesting, Coach Hedge was clinging onto the blonde's ankle with both hands.

"ZEUS YOU SLUT!" The stranger screamed at the sky. Jason slowly sank lower and lower, finally touching the ground.

"Are the bird-women gone?" He asked, looking around suspiciously, letting go of Piper as he did so.

The stranger shoved Leo away from him, the said Hispanic soaked from the water, "Probably. They most likely thought none of us would survive the fall. I'd be more worried about that, though." He warned, pointing at the Nemean Lion.

"Is it dead?" Piper asked as the five of them approached the monster.

Once her question was voiced, the animal cocked its head upwards, growling as it saw them. It slowly stood to its feet, somewhat wobbly once it was finally upright. The dark-haired man waved his hand at them, gesturing for them to get back, "Run."

The lion lunged, but the stranger was faster, leaping out of the way. The lion connected with the ground, causing a plume of dried dirt to rise into the air, shading their battle. The man swung his sword at the beast's maw. As his weapon connected, the lion bit down, ripping the sword out of the stranger's hands and throwing it away.

As the sword clattered away, the man's eyes widened, "Shit."

The lion crouched down, preparing to pounce on the dark-haired male. An arrow broke the beast's concentration, bouncing off of the back of its neck. Everyone looked in the direction it was fired from, including the lion, and saw a group of girls, none older than twenty-four, approaching, each of them clad in various shades of green. "Need some help, Kelphead?"

The man she was talking to just growled, turning back to the lion. The beast chomped at him, and he sprung into the air, flipping over the monstrosity. He sped toward his sword, grabbing it up, whirling back toward the lion.

"I'll finish the job this time." He said, running straight for the lion.

The green-clad women made their way over the four that had been watching the fight. A girl with short, spiky black hair approached Piper, "Thalia Grace. Lieutenant of Artemis." She spoke, extending a fist.

The brunette widened her eyes at the girl's last name, before cautiously touching Thalia's fist with her own. She looked back at the fight, "Is he gonna be alright?"

Thalia looked surprised by the question, as if the idea of the man not winning hadn't even crossed her mind. "Percy? He'll be fine. Something about being invulnerable that just doesn't let you die."

The man, now known to Piper as Percy, feigned at the the top of the lion's head. The motion had the desired effect, causing the beast to open its mouth wide. Percy stabbed down into the monster's throat. However, as he did so, the lion bit down, lodging its teeth firmly in his shoulder.

They both collapsed after this, neither making a movement from their places on the ground. Jason was the first to realize the dire situation, "He's not moving."

Thalia's eyes widened, and she raced toward the motionless body, "Percy!" She screamed, falling to her knees by his side. "Annabeth will never forgive me if I let you die!" She pried the deceased lion's maw open, wincing as she saw the amount of blood around the wound.

Artemis arrived beside her, dragging the lion's body away from Percy. Thalia rolled him over, and the downed man rasped, "Wa-water."

The lieutenant looked pleadingly at the goddess, and Artemis nodded, snapping her fingers and summoning a large bottle of water. Thalia quickly opened the contained, dousing the wound with the liquid.

By that point, the hunters and the other four had arrived behind the duo helping the wounded man. As the water was absorbed by Percy, the rest of them (other than Artemis and Thalia), marveled at how his wounds healed themselves at such a quick rate.

When his injuries were gone, Thalia slumped, letting out a long sigh, "Oh thank Olympus."

* * *

 **Percy woke** in darkness, a thin slit of light the only thing he could see. He groaned loudly, slowly sitting upright and swinging his feet off the side of the cot he lay in. He stood up, gaining his bearings, then began to walk toward the light. As he emerged from the tent, Thalia was the first person to acknowledge the immortal's presence.

She stormed towards him, shoving him in the chest forcefully, "What the hell was that bullshit?"

Percy was barely affected by the push, the only reaction he showed was reaching up and rubbing his bite wound. "Later." He grunted, marching toward the auburn haired goddess.

Artemis turned to face the son of Poseidon, "Perseus. I am glad to see you conscious after the wounds you suffered at the hands of the Nemean Lion."

The son of the sea god was in no mood for pleasantries, however. "Your father and I need to have a chat."

The goddess of the hunt was offended by the boy's tone, and she crossed her arms. As the hunters and other demigods drew near to the duo, she responded. "Would you care to tell me what you need to talk to Lord Zeus about?"

Percy shot a glare her way, turning and looking for someone. "Jason, I need you for a quick second."

The blonde boy in question looked at Piper, who shrugged in response. Swallowing hard, Jason made his way over to the raven-haired man. "What's up?"

Percy ignored his question, instead simply laying a hand on the younger demigod's shoulder. The son of Poseidon used his newfound immortal powers to teleport into the air, just above the tree line. He let go of Jason, allowing the blonde to fall on his own.

Percy reached the ground before Jason, slowing his fall by creating water to stop himself. He pointed upwards at the younger boy. "Superman, up there, is your half-brother."

Artemis sighed, walking away from the son of Poseidon as she pinched the bridge of her nose, and muttered a few unintelligible comments about 'unfaithful male pigs.' "Ignoring my father's blatant unchaste behavior, I seem to have missed the moment when you gained the ability to teleport."

This time it was Percy's chance to sigh. "It's not exactly a fairytale kind of story."

Phoebe, another hunter, interjected into their conversation, "You seem to have come out on the better side of things."

The son of Poseidon sent a fiery glare her way, and the huntress shrunk back into the crowd. "Don't presume to know what I've been through, _hunter_." He hissed, his voice thick with lightly veiled venom.

Artemis grew nearly two feet, shifting from her usual twelve year-old form to a twenty-four year-old. She put one hand in the center of Percy's chest, shoving him. He flew back, crashing into a tree and slumping over. "I have housed you in my camp because of your friendships with my former and current lieutenants, but if you insult one of my hunters ever again, and you will make an enemy of me."

The son of Poseidon stared up at her, a murderous gleam to his eye. "Maybe if your hunters were there when we were massacred, I would show more respect for them." His voice was steely calm, and it was just loud enough for the nearest hunters and Artemis to hear.

"What are you talking about?" Thalia asked, her hands crackling with electricity as her anger grew.

"A few days ago, the camp was attacked. It was a slaughter. We weren't ready for it, and we lost too many before I managed to fight them off." Percy recounted, staring at the ground as his voice quivered.

"How did you run them off?" Artemis questioned, intently listening to his story.

"I summoned a hurricane. There was only one survivor from their army. He was stronger than any demigod I've ever seen." Percy looked up for the first time during his tale, gazing straight into Thalia's eyes. "He vanished in a flash of lightning."

Artemis contemplated his words, "And how does that lead to you losing the curse of Achilles?"

The son of Poseidon's eyes darted over to the goddess's silver ones, "Nico di Angelo lead the survivors from the battle to Olympus. I asked for the power to ensure no demigods were massacred this way ever again, so the present Olympians decided to make me an immortal."

Thalia stomped toward Percy threateningly, her hands still electrified, and growled, "You allowed this to happen? How do you think Annabeth is going to feel when she dies, and you're still this age?"

The immortal stood to his full height, charging at the daughter of Zeus and grabbing her by the collar of her shirt, "If you ever mention that name to me again," he hissed, at a voice level that only Thalia, Artemis, and Percy could hear, "then Artemis is going to need a new lieutenant."

Tears began welling up in Thalia's eyes as they widened in recognition. Instead of retaliating, she just squeezed Percy tightly in a hug. "I'm sorry. So, so sorry."

* * *

 **Piper sat** down on the bank of the lake, staring out at the reflection of the stars on the water. "Couldn't sleep?"

The daughter of Aphrodite twisted her torso, as to gain a look at the speaker. When she saw it was Percy, she sighed, relieved, and then turned back to the water. "Something like that. You?"

The son of Poseidon sat down, not touching shoulders with the girl, but sitting near her. "I haven't slept well since I was twelve years old." He stared at the sky, and Piper followed his gaze.

She saw a depiction of a female wielding a dagger. The girl saw a lone tear silently slide down his cheek, and attempted to change the subject. "Have you ever met my mom?"

Percy looked back toward her, smiling sadly. He swallowed once, "Yeah." The son of Poseidon sounded choked up, as most people do when they have been crying. "I saw her for the first time when I was twelve, on the summer solstice. She's a good-looking woman, and you kind of look like her. I spoke to her for the first time when I was fourteen. She told me that she would make my love life hell. She kept her promise, but you don't care about those details. She's the one who asked me to come find you three."

Piper listened quietly, observing Percy's face as he spoke. The immortal was good looking, his face looking as if it was chiseled out of marble. "Are all demigods' lives as hard as yours?"

The son of the sea god absorbed her questioning, mulling it over. "Not usually. I was an unlucky one. I'm the son of Poseidon, one of the big three. Monsters are more inclined to sense my presence over most other demigods. I think if you want to ask someone about a hard life, though, you should go talk to Thalia. She's a child of the king of Olympus, after all. Monsters have been after her forever. She's been turned into a tree before, which is more than I can say."

Piper just allowed the man to ramble on, letting him relieve some of that mourning through speaking. He stopped talking, holding a hand up to make sure Piper didn't speak either. The daughter of Aphrodite realized he was listening for something.

He pulled his feet out of the water, moving into a crouched position. He reached to his thigh, pulling a small dagger out of a sheath. "Here." He whispered, handing the handle of the weapon to the girl. "Go back to camp and bring Artemis back. If anything attacks you, use this."

Percy stood up to his full height as Piper ran off, shouting out to an enemy he hadn't seen yet. "I know you're here!"

A body fell out of the woods, flopping to the ground limply, and Percy's eyes focused onto it. He growled as he realized it was Nico di Angelo. "I'm sorry, P-Percy." The boy rasped, falling unconscious.

A man strolled out of the woods after the son of Hades, and this time Percy realized it was the opponent he fought at Camp Half-Blood. "You'll pay for this." The immortal snarled, his hands clenching at his sides in rage.

His enemy raised his hands in a 'I mean you no harm' gesture, "The hell spawn is very much alive, and I merely brought him as assurance for my personal safety. Now that the preliminary warning is out of the way, I don't believe we have been formally introduced. You are Perseus Jackson, son of Sally Jackson and Poseidon, and newly promoted immortal." He spoke with an annoyingly jolly tone, and glanced at Nico as he mentioned the immortal tidbit. "Congratulations, by the way. Your friend over there was more than happy to volunteer new information once a few ribs were broken."

Percy growled at his words, clenching his fists tighter, creating crescent shaped imprints in his palms, and grinded his teeth together. "I am Victor Ogletree, not an immortal, but stronger than any of you demigods."

The son of Poseidon put on a calm facade, attempting to not be hostile as to make sure no further harm would come to the last living di Angelo, "I noticed you didn't mention your heritage."

The other man laughed loudly, "I see the scouting reports I've received underestimated your skills of perception."

Percy scowled once again. "I'm only perceptive around people I don't trust."

He laughed again, this time bending over slightly and putting his hands on his knees, "That's a good one. Do you heroes rehearse your lines in the mirror?" The immortal's scowl deepened, and Victor grew serious once more. "Zeus isn't my father, if you're wondering. That lightning trick is easy if you know minor magic."

"Move away from the boy." A voice commanded. Artemis shifted out of the woods, her bow trained on the man.

Victor paid no attention to the goddess, instead focusing on Percy, "I expected so much more from you, oh savior of Olympus. I cannot believe you would sink so low as to sic your dog on me." Artemis snarled at his words, pulling her bowstring back further. "What? Do you prefer wolf?"

She loosed an arrow at the man's head. "Now, as I was saying," he tilted his head to the right, allowing the projectile to fly harmlessly into the forest, "I really don't think it's necessary for you and I to be enemies, Percy."

"You should've thought of that before you killed _her_." The son of the sea god's voice was venomous in nature, and the onlooking hunters flinched at his tone.

Thalia stepped forward, her hands electrified once more. "This is him?" She demanded, the electricity increasing in intensity as her voice grew louder.

Victor winced, "Ooh. Is this a bad time? I can come back later, if you want."

Thalia screamed in anger, throwing a ball of electricity at the man. He grinned as the voltage flew at him, stopping it by raising one hand in front of the sphere of energy, seconds before the attack would have struck him. "Is that really how the storied 'Hunters of Artemis' treat their guests?"

Percy's voice grew colder, and more venomous still, "Leave. Now. Without the boy. And never, ever come back."

As he had done when he arrived, Victor raised his hands in a non threatening gesture, "Fine. If that is what you want, then so be it." The man turned to walk into the forest, but before he entered the wooded area, he looked over his shoulder at the son of Poseidon. "Oh, and Percy," he said, grinning maliciously from ear to ear, "leave flowers on her grave for me."

* * *

" **Dinner!"** Thalia called, walking ahead of Percy as he toted along the buck she had killed.

"I don't see why you couldn't bring the deer." The son of Poseidon whined, his shoulders starting to ache under the dead mammal's weight.

Thalia grinned at an angle which the immortal couldn't see, exaggeratedly sighing and shaking her head, as if she was disappointed by his complaint. "Percy, we've been through this. You watched while I killed the deer, so I'll watch while you carry the deer."

Artemis smirked at the display from the two cousins, their bickering reminding her of herself and Apollo. "Bring the carcass over here," she told the son of the sea god.

He dropped the deer at her feet, and she scowled at his impolite treatment of a creature from her domain. "Gently, next time, boy."

He spun to face her once more, "Lady Artemis, with all due respect, the animal is dead. I don't think it felt that."

She walked up to him, "Regardless, Perseus," she elongated his real name, trying to irritate the boy, "when a goddess asks something of you, you don't argue with her. Or do you just want Aphrodite to like you?"

Percy paled, realizing this situation could spiral out of control faster than he had anticipated, "I apologize if I have offended you, o goddess of the hunt." He bowed, somewhat mockingly, but Artemis simply dismissed him with an unamused glare.

She snapped her fingers, preparing the deer for consumption. She sat down on one of the wooden logs surrounding the fire, and Percy subconsciously scooted away from her. The goddess of the hunt made a snickering noise, "Scared, Perseus?"

The son of Poseidon scowled, taking a large bite out of the meat on his plate. "No. 'S just that being a jackalope has never quite made it onto my bucket list."

Artemis smirked at his words, and somewhat at how viciously the male ate his food. "I have no intention of turning you into a jackalope, boy. Despite what you may think, you are one of my more favored demigods."

Percy heard some commotion coming from near the tents where the demigods were stationed. "Speaking of demigods…" He discarded his plate, standing to his full height and stalking over to the noise.

Phoebe stood very close to Piper, and the son of Poseidon felt like the older girl was trying to be intimidating. "Don't be as stupid as your _mother_ , girl. No good can come from the boy you feel such attachment to. It is in your best interest to join the hunt."

The younger half-blood clenched her fists by her side in response to the verbal jab directed at her parent, standing on the tips of her toes to get right in Phoebe's face, "What part of 'no' don't you understand?"

The hunter just sneered, placing one hand in between Piper's collarbones. She shoved the girl lightly, but the daughter of Aphrodite was so lightweight that the push knocked her to the ground. "Don't do something you will regret later, wench."

Phoebe began advancing on the downed half-blood. Suddenly, there was a blur of movement, and the hunter collided with a figure, knocking her to the ground, mirroring Piper. Percy seethed down at the eldest huntress of Artemis. "I don't like it when people hit defenseless women."

Phoebe recovered from her brief shock at bumping into something, sloppily scurrying to her feet. As Artemis observed the display from behind the trees and out of sight, she mentally berated her huntress for performing an action so clumsily. "This is not of your concern, _boy_."

"Actually, her mother personally requested I escort the three demigods under my protection, so this most certainly is my concern, Phoebe." He spat her name with matching, if not greater, disdain than the huntress spoke with.

The girl slowly snaked her hand to the sheath at her waist where she kept her hunting knives, hoping the son of Poseidon wouldn't notice. "If you even attempt to stab me with that toothpick, I will break every bone in your arm."

Phoebe paled, not sure if Percy was bluffing with his threat or not. "Phoebe, go tend to the fire." Artemis gracefully slid into the area, appearing out of the woods as if she had just arrived. The huntress sent one more glare at the son of Poseidon, before bowing to the goddess and leaving.

Artemis helped Piper to her feet, dismissing the girl and turning to Percy. "Do not threaten my huntresses, boy."

The son of the sea god's nostrils flared, "She threatened my friend. And besides, if I hadn't stepped in, she would have injured Piper, and I very much think that Aphrodite wouldn't appreciate that very much."

"I am fully capable of handling the wrath of Aphrodite. What I cannot have is huntresses that despise me for housing a male in my camp. So, in order for you to stay in my camp, you must try to be cordial with my girls." She explained, trying to put her words simply for the man.

Percy inhaled deeply, planning his response, "I can easily do that. However, if they choose to be hostile toward the half-bloods I have promised to protect, then they are going to have a problem with on their hands."

The goddess of the hunt clenched her fists, deeply hoping that the son of Poseidon would stop arguing with her, "I will speak with my hunters about it, but I am trusting you to hold up your part of the agreement."

Percy nodded stiffly, "If you can do that, I'll try to be easier to get along with."

"That's all I'm asking of you." Artemis turned on her heel and walked away, leaving the son of the sea god alone in the small clearing.

* * *

 **Thalia stood** in the middle of the field, accompanied by Percy and two other huntresses. "She told us that she sensed monsters this way." The daughter of Zeus informed the others, pointing in the direction she was talking about.

"Wait." Percy spoke, holding a hand out in front of Thalia to stop her from moving forward anymore. "They're close."

Diana scowled, "Why should we believe anything you say, boy?" She spat at Percy, advancing toward the woods.

The male frowned at her words, motioning for her to get back from the trees. "Because the last time I checked, I am the only one with the ability to sense monsters out of us four."

Serena came to her fellow huntress's aid, retorting immediately, "That still doesn't mean we should trust you, or any of your statements."

Thalia was beginning to get irritated by the girls' constant antagonizing of her friend, "You should trust him because I do! I am your lieutenant, which means I am in command of this mission, which means when he says to stay back, and I stay back, you should too!"

The two hunters meekly muttered a "Yes Thalia," before retreating back toward the two children of the big three.

A chuckle came from the forest, attracting the attention of all four half-bloods. "It iss sso deeply amusssing to watch you bicker."

A single dracanae emerged from the wooded area, "I believe this is what you humansss call an ambush."

A small battalion of monsters, Percy believed there were close to fifty in the area, walked into the clearing, surrounding the demigods. Realizing the odds, the son of Poseidon sprung into action, flinging Riptide at a cyclops and impaling the weapon into its forehead.

"You three, run and get Artemis! I'll hold them off until then!" Percy commanded, summoning water to create a blade of ice.

The two other huntresses acquiesced to his orders, racing through the gap the cyclops had previously filled in. Thalia, however, stood her ground, moving so she and Percy would be standing back to back. "I'm not leaving you here."

The son of Poseidon grimaced. "It's not exactly the best odds in the world."

The lieutenant of Artemis smirked, springing Aegis to life, "Yeah. They should've brought more monsters."

The army charged, their weapons raised as they converged on the two half-bloods. The first monster to reach Percy was an empousai, who attempted to grab him by the shoulders. As soon as the monster's hands connected, the son of Poseidon kicked out with his left leg, striking the creature in the knee. It fell on all fours, and Percy flipped his sword into an icepick gripped, stabbing down through the back of its neck.

Behind him, Thalia was holding her own impressively, as well. Many of the monsters were reluctant to approach her, wary of the depiction of Medusa on her shield, so she blasted a path straight through them with her electricity powers. A cyclops approached her, a large club in its hands.

It swung down on the girl, but it just glanced off of Aegis, knocking the monster off balance. She stabbed through its foot with her spear, the creature let out a roar of agony. Thalia used her shield as a weapon this time, striking the beast in the face as it bent over to address the spear. After she had done this, she ripped the spear out of the cyclops's appendage and driving it through its torso.

By this point, Riptide had returned to Percy. He held the sword in an icepick grip, stabbing it straight into the ground. This caused a miniature earthquake to occur, flooring many of the monsters in his view. He let out a yell, summoning a blast of lightning from the sky and decimating the downed creatures.

A hellhound flew at him, and the son of Poseidon slashed upwards with his blade, cleaving the beast's face in two. A cry of pain came from behind Percy, and he whirled around. The son of the sea god was greeted with a terrible image.

A dracanae, the same one that had initially emerged from the forest, stood there, a long, thin knife in its hands. The knife appeared to be coated in poison. Below her, Thalia lay, her face contorted due to the pain she was in. Near her shoulder, the dark green of her apparel was stained red by blood. "STOP!" Percy yelled. He felt a rush in his stomach, and all of the monsters were frozen where they stood.

He dropped to the ground next to the daughter of Zeus, summoning water and healing her wounds. He took nearly three minutes, drawing all of the poison out of her body. The monsters remained frozen, unable to move as the son of Poseidon controlled the water flowing through their bloodstream.

Percy rose to his full height, glaring bloody murder at the dracanae that had wounded Thalia. The girl remained on the ground, unconscious, and no longer in pain. The son of Poseidon stole the dagger from the monster, twisting it around in his hands and observing the blade.

"I assume you know what that poison is, correct?" His voice was eerily calm, and he showed no emotion in his facial features.

"Y-yes." The dracanae gasped out, grimacing as she imagined what he would do.

"And what does it do?" Percy questioned, raising his voice slightly as he visibly grew angrier.

"The poison is not designed to kill. It is designed to cause great pain to the victim. It sends them into a long lasting coma, where the only thing they can feel is that poison, causing them immense pain." The monster rambled on, its fear growing as it stared at the son of Poseidon's expression.

The half-blood glanced down at his friend, taking in her features to make sure she felt none of the discomfort caused by the venom. "And you were sent by Victor?" He asked, not looking up from Thalia.

"That is correct." The dracanae was slightly less worried, realizing the demigod was no longer focused on it.

"Send him my regards." He spoke calmly, seemingly no longer angry about the actions. He crouched down, next to the daughter of Zeus.

Suddenly, the hand holding the knife darted upwards, sending the blade under the monster's ribcage. The creature collapsed, its face twisting in agony as the poison made its way through the dracanae's body.

Percy released the knife, picking up Thalia's body. Before leaving the clearing, he glanced back at the remaining monsters, making sure they were all listening intently to what he had to say. "If you follow us, a worse fate awaits each and every one of you." He walked into the forest, toward Artemis's camp.

Once he was out of their sight, he teleported to the campsite, trudging into the infirmary and laying Thalia on one of the cots. Curious glances followed the two of them as he did so, but Percy ignored them all, focused on making sure the daughter of Zeus recovered peacefully.

As he left the tent, Leo approached him, worry clearly on his face. "Is she gonna be okay?"

The son of Poseidon temporarily addressed him, "Yeah. She just needs a while to rest. Thalia's tough; she won't let a scratch like that hold her down."

Artemis advanced on the two half-bloods, clearly not happy with the occurrences of late. "What happened?" She demanded, in no mood for pleasantries.

Percy turned towards her, a scowl on his face. "She was stabbed. The blade was poisoned. I don't know what the poison was. It wasn't made to kill, just to inflict pain. Regardless, I drained the poison from her blood, so she shouldn't be feeling any of that. Give her a day to recover and she should be fine."

The goddess frowned. "I shouldn't have sent you four to scout ahead. Diana and Serena are back, but they're spooked. They aren't used to close quarters combat."

"You're right." Percy said, not going to lie and try to reassure the Olympian. "You shouldn't have sent us ahead. There were too many of them for us to fight. We weren't prepared, and we had no knowledge of what enemy we were facing. However, don't blame the girls for that. They're not suited for melee. It should've been a reconnaissance mission, and I tried to turn it into a fight. If they'll let me, I'll try to train them on fighting up close. I've already got to help the other three."

Artemis smiled at Percy's words, glad that the boy was trying to help, rather than be contradictory or antagonistic. "That would be nice. Thank you for your assistance, Perseus."

 **I tried to make this close to 8000 words, but I ran out of material and I wanted to update it for the readers. Uh, suggestions are welcome, actually, they're requested, and yeah. Have a nice January**

 **LTS**


	3. Chapter 3

**Nico briskly** strode toward the palace of Hades, making a conscious effort to ignore the screams of agony from the Fields of Punishment. The caustic odor of flames struck his sinuses, and he recoiled slightly, "Home sweet home," he muttered sardonically, a scowl forming on his pale visage.

A hellhound came bounding up to him from his blindside, knocking into him and almost throwing him to the ground. An enthusiastic bark rang into his ears, and the last di Angelo sighed. "Hey Mrs. O'Leary. How are you doing, girl?"

The boy reached over, scratching the oversized dog behind her ear. Another bark was the only response to his question, and the son of Hades continued petting the beast. The dog sensed how tired the boy was, and laid down on the ground, allowing the half-blood to climb on.

Nico gratefully mounted the hell hound's back, "Thanks, girl. Hades's palace, please."

The beast yelped happily, bounding into a nearby shadow. The two reappeared outside of Hades's throne room, and the demigod clumsily slid off of Mrs. O'Leary's back. Nico groggily stood to his feet, and stared at the massive double-doors.

They stood nearly twenty feet tall-'Fit for a god,' Nico thought-and depicted various images of Hades, from sitting on his throne, to fighting off a plethora of monsters. "Lord di Angelo!"

Nico spun around, greeted with the spectral figure of Aeacus, one of the three judges of the dead. "My liege, you look terrible!" The ghost bowed to the half-blood.

The son of Hades sighed, for what seemed like the billionth time today, "I don't feel great either, Aeacus. That's actually what I came to speak to my father about. Have you had any interesting souls to judge recently?"

The specter nodded emphatically, "Yes, sire. We judged many of the deceased demigods today. Most of them made Elysium, but Minos managed to convince his brother to keep some of them out. The Chase girl that Perseus Jackson is so interested in was sent to the stars, rather than Elysium."

The di Angelo boy nodded, combing over what the judge had told him, "Thank you, Aeacus. You have been most helpful. Have a nice day."

The ghost bowed once more, before hurrying away from the young son of Hades. Nico turned back to the momentous doors, inhaling deeply. He steeled his courage, striding confidently toward the entrance.

With a flick of his wrist, the boy used his hereditary powers to fling open the large entryway. As the doors opened, Nico was greeted with the sight of his father, Hades, loudly berating one of his judges, Minos.

The lord of the Underworld noticed the his son's arrival almost instantly. "Leave us, Minos." He dismissed the ghost with an apathetic wave of his hand.

The specter vanished instantly, leaving the father and son alone in the room. Nico knelt down, bowing his head as a show of reverence toward his parentage. "Father. I hope I haven't come at a bad time."

The lord of darkness scoffed, a rare show of humor from Hades, "Rise, boy. You of all people should know, it is always a bad time in the Underworld. What have you come here to talk to me about?"

The youngest di Angelo stood to his feet, "I assume you know of the occurrences at the half-blood camp?"

The eldest male god looked down on his son, his scowl deepening as he observed the bruises and signs of battle on the boy's face. "Yes, Nico, I do. There have been many demigods' souls arriving as of late. However, I am sure my judges can handle that quite easily. It is their job, you know. My main concern at the moment, is your physical well-being. What has happened to you?"

The son of Hades's eyes widened. He was not used to his father showing such affection, and he was not prepared for it. The boy took a deep breath, and began to recount his tale, "I had taken the surviving half-bloods to Olympus, and they were being tended to by Apollo, and other healers. I saw no further need for my presence there, so I left. As I was exiting the Empire State Building, I was ambushed by a group of monsters. They were lead by the same man who attacked the camp. I managed to defeat the creatures, but the mortal was stronger than any demigod I've seen, alive or dead."

Now, it was the god's turn for his eyes to widen. "Even Perseus Jackson?"

Nico looked up, more anguish on his face than usual. He solemnly nodded, before continuing, "I was taken to the hunters' camp, where Percy was staying while he transported three demigods he had rescued. The man clearly wants Percy on his side when the war comes, and I'm sure he'll stop at nothing to get what he wants."

Hades rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I'll add more guards to Tartarus. There will be no involvement from any of the Titans vanquished in the second Titanomachy. I want you to go find Jackson, and stay with him. If there is anyone who can defeat this stranger, it is the combination of the two of you."

Nico bowed once again, "As you wish, father." He stood to his feet, quickly exiting the room.

* * *

 **Leo groaned** , his head falling back as Percy took another sword away from him. The elder half-blood claimed that it was better to 'have no blade at all, rather than an unbalanced one.'

"C'mon, man! Can't we just give me a big sword and call it a day?" The son of Hephaestus complained, throwing his arms above his head, an obvious sign of his exasperation.

The son of Poseidon shot him a glare, looking him up and down once more, as if measuring the boy. After a moment, Percy snatched up a large warhammer from a table in the armory, shoving it into the younger boy's chest and eliciting a grunt from the Hispanic half-blood. "Go." He commanded, pointing at the exit of the tent.

Leo sarcastically saluted, "Sir yes sir." He gripped the hilt of the weapon with his other hand, trudging out of the armory.

Percy gave the boy a light shove, following him out of the tent. "Alright, who's next?" He called, directing the question at the various hunters and demigods who needed new weapons.

Piper cautiously raised her hand, "Me." She meekly answered, reluctantly standing up.

The son of Poseidon waved his arm in a 'come here' motion, holding the tent flap open for the girl as she entered the weapons room. Percy looked over the girl, similar to what he had done with Leo, and addressed her. "Hit me."

Piper whirled on him, her eyes as wide as they would go. "Excuse me?"

The immortal chuckled slightly, a smirk growing on his handsome features, "You heard me."

The girl remained confused, "Of course I heard you! What I want to know is why I have to hit you!"

"I need to gauge your strength capabilities. I don't want to give you an axe or a longsword if it is going to be too much of a burden for you to swing them." Percy explained, looking around the tent for items that would go along with her build.

Piper sighed, pulling her fist back. She launched it as hard as she could, striking the man in his shoulder. Much to her dismay, the son of Poseidon didn't show any signs of distress because of her attack. In fact, he wasn't even moved by it. "What the hell?"

He laughed loudly this time, throwing his head back. "I've kind of made a profession out of getting hit, as of late. You're going to need to put on some muscle if you want to get a reaction out of me."

Percy scoured the armory for several more seconds, before a little 'aha' came out of his mouth. He reached over to a wall of weapons, gripping a dagger. He spun, handing the hilt to her. "It's pretty." She said, observing the weapon.

The blade's hilt was made of polished wood, and it had a long, triangular blade that seemed to be made of bronze. The strangest part of the knife is that, when Piper looked at the blade, she didn't see her reflection. Instead, she saw Leo and Jason, sitting around the campfire they'd built last winter.

The daughter of Aphrodite sheathed the dagger, putting the weapon at her waist, and exited the tent. She walked over, taking a seat next to Jason and Leo. "You're next." Percy spoke, directing his comment at the son of Zeus.

Jason looked up at the son of Poseidon, shaking his head once, "Thalia said she wanted to pick out my weapon."

Percy replied, "Fine by me," before letting out a long yawn, stretching his upper body. This action created a loud crack, heard by everyone in the vicinity. "Sorry," the immortal said, grinning slightly at the face Piper made.

"Anyway, I think it's time to use those things." He said, referencing the weapons they'd just been given. "Leo, get up."

The son of Hephaestus groaned, rising to his feet slowly, "Why me? Piper got a weapon too!"

Percy frowned slightly at the demigod's complaint, "And if we play our cards right, she won't have to use it that often." He looked around Leo, shooting a grin at the daughter of Aphrodite, "No offense."

Piper smiled right back at him, "None taken."

"Fine." The son of Hephaestus reluctantly lifted his hammer, arranging his body into a fighting position.

Percy did nothing in preparation, except raising his arms out to his sides (as if they were wings), and asking, "Well? You gonna make a move, Valdez?"

Leo let out a battle cry, running at the son of Poseidon. As he neared the immortal, Percy sidestepped the younger boy, sticking out a foot and effectively tripping him.

Leo crashed to the ground, eliciting laughter from Jason, Piper, and the recently arrived Thalia. "Leo," the daughter of Aphrodite called, "I think the point of fighting is to hit the other person, not to hit the ground."

The children of Zeus laughed even harder at her comment, and Percy just grinned. The son of Hephaestus let out another groan, "You're killin' me, Smalls."

The three onlookers were guffawing by now, and there was a small crowd of hunters surrounding them. "You telegraphed, kid. You're showing me exactly what you're gonna do, right before you do it. Now, get up, and try it again."

The younger demigod clumsily rose to his feet, collecting himself. He charged at Percy a second time, swinging down with the hammer in his right hand. The son of Poseidon sidestepped again. The hammer collided with air, and Percy was behind the son of Hephaestus now.

The son of Poseidon stepped forward, sending a fist right into the small of his opponent's back. As a result, Leo flew forward, crashing to the ground right at Piper's feet. The laughter began again.

"C'mon, man! This is useless!" The son of Hephaestus protested.

"I concur." Artemis stepped out of the crowd, her hands on her hips, "Why doesn't Perseus face a worthy opponent?"

The aforementioned man frowned at the goddess's suggestion, "Because I don't want to get my ass whupped."

Thalia snorted at his retort, and the Olympian grinned. "Don't worry, boy. I will make sure to avoid touching said 'ass'."

Percy got into a fighting stance, drawing Anaklusmos out of his pocket, "Oh boy." He meekly spoke.

The daughter of Zeus taunted the boy from behind his back, "What's wrong, Kelp Head? Afraid of a little girl?"

Percy nodded twice in quick succession, "Very." He confirmed.

Artemis raced forward, and the battle began, at speeds which non-demigod eyes would not be able to keep up with. The son of Poseidon feigned at her waist, but the goddess was not fooled. He frowned, then stabbed at her chest with his blade.

She somersaulted over the strike, falling gracefully to the earth behind Percy. She spun around, kicking him in the back of his knee. The male fell, and Artemis attempted to take advantage of this. She struck downwards with her hunting knife, but the son of Poseidon realized what she was doing, and rolled out of the way.

Percy regained his footing, rising to his full height, and charged at the goddess. Artemis flipped over him again, but the son of the sea god was ready this time. He spun to where she would land. Slashing outwards, Percy slicing through the green garb on the goddess, revealing olive-colored skin and cutting a slit in her upper arm. This only seemed to anger Artemis, her silver eyes flashing with rage.

"Oh shi-" Percy managed to speak, before the goddess was upon to him.

She feigned at the male's leg, and the son of Poseidon took the bait. As his sword dipped downwards, he realized he was trying to block an attack that was inexistent. Artemis kicked Percy in the chest, knocking him backwards. As he hit the dirt, he rolled backwards, colliding with a tree. Artemis grabbed him by the neck of his shirt, slamming him up against said tree.

"Yield." She demanded, placing the knife near his carotid artery.

Percy nervously grinned, dropping his sword. "Ma'am yes ma'am."

* * *

 **Serena sighed** , leaning against a tree on the border of camp. Patrolling was definitely one of the most tedious chores you could get. _CRACK!_

The huntress's head swiveled toward the noise, an arrow already strung up on her bow. "W-who's there?" She worriedly called.

Narrowing her eyes, she made out a doglike form in the distance. As it slowly neared, she realized it was a hellhound. She loosed an arrow, headed straight for the beast. Right before the projectile connected with the creature, a shadow flew in front of the bolt, and it disappeared.

"I would not have done that if I was you." Serena shrieked, turning to see a thin, pale boy, shorter than herself, standing four meters away.

"Y-you can't be here!" She protested, clumsily attempting to nock another arrow.

"And who do you propose will make me leave?" The boy drew the shadows towards himself, briefly covered by them.

When the darkness retracted, he had a long iron sword in his right hand. By now, some of the other huntresses had been attracted by the sound of Serena's scream. Phoebe aimed an arrow at the stranger's throat. "Who are you?"

An eerie smile dawned on his pale features, "A friend," he answered, not putting down his weapon.

"Then why is your sword unsheathed, boy?" Another hunter, Allison, demanded.

The smile did not leave his face, and he pointed one long finger at Serena, "She attacked my friend."

The huntress in question frowned, "You're friends with a hellhound?"

The boy nodded, his unnerving smirk still present, "It comes with the territory when your father is the king of the Underworld."

Percy, who had been watching from afar, but had been unable to get a good look at the son of Hades, realized who it was, and smiled. He snuck off, taking a wide berth around the group, and coming up behind the boy.

While this was going on, the huntresses continued their line of questioning, "Men," Phoebe spat out the name, "are no friend of ours. Much less if their lineage comes from Hades."

As the boy opened his mouth to speak, he was doused with water from behind, "What the f-" he whirled around to see who the perpetrator was, only to be greeted with the downed form of Perseus Jackson, rolling around giggling.

"H-he was t-trying to b-be s-so scary, a-and," the son of Poseidon attempted to speak, but it just diverged into fits of laughter.

Artemis and Thalia-who had been speaking in the goddess's tent-approached the scene, and the Olympian asked, "What is going on here?"

Phoebe scowled at the pair of boys in front of them, "Perseus seems to have invited a friend over."

Nico, still drenched in water, bowed to Artemis, while the son of the sea god remained tormented by his laughter, "Lady Artemis, my father has ordered me to accompany Percy in order to capture the unknown enemy the next time he appears."

Thalia frowned at her eldest demigod cousin, sending a jolt of electricity his way. The attack connected with the immortal's lower back, sending him right back onto his feet. The son of Poseidon growled, sending a blast of water her way.

It hit its target, and now two-thirds of Percy's demigod cousins were soaked in hydrogen dioxide. Thalia, her hair clinging to her head flatly, stormed toward the immortal, getting right up in his face, "Do you have a problem, Kelp for Brains?"

"Maybe I don't like being electrocuted, Pinecone Face!" He yelled, not backing down from the huntress.

Nico sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as if this was a usual occurrence whenever those two were in the same vicinity. With a flick of his wrist, a shadow enveloped Thalia, sending her to the other side of their campsite. "NICCCOOOOOOO!" The daughter of Zeus screamed at the top of her lungs.

"ENOUGH!" Artemis exclaimed, moving her arms in an 'x' motion while she did so, "Hunters, to your tents! Di Angelo, you will stay outside until we have come to a decision! You," she pointed one finger at the son of Poseidon, "and I are having a conversation in my tent!"

Without waiting for a response, Artemis stormed off in the direction of her tent, which happened to be the largest in the camp. Percy turned to Nico with a confused look on his face, to which the son of Hades replied with a shrug of dismissal. The immortal sighed, hanging his head and trudging along behind the goddess.

As he entered the tent, the son of the sea god was pleasantly surprised. Unlike Aphrodite's palace, Artemis's tent was not lavishly decorated. Instead, there were several animal pelts strewn about in the room, the most noticeable the bear lying right in front of the entrance. Behind it was the goddess's sleeping mat, on which a deer was resting, its legs folded up under itself. The strange thing, Percy noticed, was that Artemis also had a wolf inside her sleeping quarters, and it did not seem to be feuding with the deer, which normally would be considered its prey.

"I see you've noticed my companions." The goddess began, the wolf plodding over to her and rubbing against the Olympian's thigh. Artemis scratched behind its ear. "This is Avalon. Lupa only sends her very finest to the Hunt."

Percy was perplexed by her last sentence. "Lupa?" He wondered aloud.

Artemis's eyes widened, as if she'd given something away. "You will learn in time, boy. Now, to the matter at hand. My hunters do not want another boy staying with us."

The male's eyes darkened, and he stared coldly at the goddess. "Your hunters can take that up with me, if they so choose to."

Artemis glared harshly at the boy, "More importantly than that, however, we do not need another powerful scent with us. There are currently five children of the big three situated in this camp at the moment. That is taking unnecessary risks with my huntresses' safety."

"The Lord Hades, our uncle, seems to view it differently from you. He believes that strength in numbers will be able to conquer any possible threat drawn by our scent. Also, if you are so unconfident in the respective fighting skills of your huntresses, you and them can retreat while Nico and I, and whoever chooses to accompany us, face that threat alone." Percy spoke, raising his voice and using hand motions as he voiced his argument.

The goddess's eyes flashed with rage, and she stormed right up to the male. "First of all, Lord Hades is not currently presiding over the Hunt; I am. That means that I can do as I so choose with the girls that have sworn to side by me. Secondly, don't you dare question the prowess of my huntresses. You have no idea how much those girls have been through, which is much more than you losing your petty little teen crush!" Artemis finished with a scream, clenching her fists at her sides.

Percy froze, his eyes narrowing as his irises seemed to turn pale green in color. He spun on his heel, stalking out of the tent without a word, the only sound the loud stomps created by his feet. "P-Perseus I didn't mean to-" Artemis was cut off as the male swung the door shut, leaving her to contemplate the gravity of what she'd just done.

Thalia had since cooled off from her brief spat with her cousins, and was waiting for the immortal meeting to end. She rose off of the wooden log, a smile adorning her face as she saw the son of Poseidon. "Hey, Perce, how'd it go?"

"Move." His voice was barely above a whisper, but it was enough to send a shiver down her spine.

He bumped into her with his shoulder, and the daughter of Zeus fell back to the ground. Thalia looked at Percy's retreating form, then her goddess's tent, "This is not good."

* * *

As soon as the immortal was out of sight from anyone in the camp grounds, he broke out into a sprint, trying to get as far away from any signs of life as possible. He didn't care where, he was just running. Running, trying to get away from that heartless _bitch_ that was angry because she could never find love.

Percy didn't feel the branches that left scratches on his face and arms. He didn't feel the shrubs that tore up his legs. He was just running.

Eventually, the son of Poseidon tripped over something, crashing to the ground with a grunt. He skidded several feet before stopping, his face right above the surface of a lake. In the clear blue water, Percy saw his reflection.

There were red streaks on his forehead and cheeks were the branches had smacked him, and he had a deep scowl adorning his face. The most disheartening thing that the son of Poseidon realized, is that he had been crying, and it was very visible.

He furiously wiped at his tear-ridden face, determined to remove any sign that he had ever been crying because of something as petty as an insult.

"I hate Artemis." He growled, once he had finished rubbing his eyes. "That self righteous bitch thinks she knows everything. I haven't done shit to her! In fact, she's the one who owes me! She would still be Atlas's bitch under the sky if I wasn't there!"

A purring sound came from behind Percy, followed by a lecherous, sultry voice, "I know, baby. That mean old prude should be kissing your feet, thanking you for all you've done."

The son of Poseidon whirled around, only to be greeted by several individuals. They were all identical in appearance, but the seven different forms were creating a wall so that he could not leave.

Being honest, Percy thought the women were beautiful, reminding him somewhat of Aphrodite. She was dressed simply, in a revealing blouse and blue jeans, but the demigod believed there were weapons hidden somewhere in her attire.

"Now then, baby, be a doll and come give me a kiss." As she spoke, the son of Poseidon could barely make out long teeth, sharper than any mortal should have.

Percy flicked his wrist, a shard of hardened water from the lake flying at the middle woman. The projectile passed harmlessly through her, though her mist-like form dissipated, before collecting together once again.

The woman hissed at him, baring her teeth. "Now now, honey, that's not very polite."

"Who are you?" The son of Poseidon demanded, drawing his sword from his pocket and uncapping it.

"My name is Lamia, you half-blood brat, and I've been sent here to kill you." Lamia answered, flexing her fingers. As she did so, her nails elongated, growing into razor sharp claws.

Percy was momentarily disgruntled by her fingernail situation, giving a slight 'ugh' in response, but shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "You're gonna need a lot more than just seven."

The monster cackled, "I think I'll find a way to manage, you arrogant bastard."

All seven forms lunged toward Percy at once, but the son of Poseidon was ready. As the pounced, her sprung backwards, using the lakewater to catch himself. "You're in my domain now."

The demigod used his sword akin to a conducting baton, gesturing with it toward the far left version of Lamia. A tendril of water lashed out at her, striking the monster in the throat. This form faded out temporarily, as well. 'Well,' Percy thought. 'I've narrowed it down to five.'

He was not given time to celebrate his deductive reasonings, as all seven renditions of Lamia began chanting Latin words. As they finished their chanting, a large ball of energy fired itself at the son of Poseidon.

"Woah!" He shouted, swerving to the right as the blast caused a minor tidal wave in the lake.

"That's new." He muttered to himself, planning a new assault. "Hecate?" He called out.

"You're not as dense as you appear, sea spawn." She called, slightly drained from summoning the energy ball. "Yes, my mother is Hecate."

Taking her momentary breathlessness as an opening, Percy used the water to catapult himself at the form which he believed was the true Lamia. With a cry of defiance, he flew towards the woman, Riptide pointed straight for her heart.

As he neared her, Lamia chanted several more words in Latin. Percy grunted as he collided with an invisible wall, crashing to the dirt and rolling to the edge of the lake.

Disoriented, the son of Poseidon attempted to regain his bearings as the monstress stalked toward him. He barely registered the other six illusions disappearing, and she rolled him over with her foot. She straddled his chest, wrapping her hands around his neck.

"I want to see the look on your face as the life is drained from your eyes, you worthless piece of sea scum." Her grip tightened on his throat as she spoke.

Percy attempted to form words, "What? Do you have a last request, half-blood?" She demanded, slightly loosening her hold.

"Look up." The son of Poseidon simply spoke.

She acquiesced to his request, her gaze darting to the sky. Above her, an icicle was waiting, falling and imbedding itself between her eyes. The monster keeled over, the shard having done its job, and Percy grunted as he shoved the woman off of himself.

As she began to disintegrate, he spat at the pile of golden dust. "Rot in Tartarus, bitch."

* * *

 **Thalia stood** to her feet, brushing herself off of any excess dirt. "Oh hell." She muttered.

Nico seemed to appear out of the shadows, striding straight toward the daughter of Zeus. "Do you know why he's pissed?"

The huntress glanced up, slightly relieved that it was Nico and not anyone else. "Nah. I think he and Lady Artemis got into a fight. She can have a temper. But right now, I need you to go find Percy and bring him back here."

Nico's eyes widened, and he gave a nervous laugh. "You think I can handle him right now?" He demanded, his voice conveying his exasperation. "The only people who could handle Percy when he's mad are Annabeth, and his mom. One of them is a constellation, and the other is several thousand miles away. Besides that, we don't even know where Percy is right now!"

Thalia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Fine. Let's go talk to Artemis and find out what happened."

The daughter of Zeus led the way, on Nico's suggestion, and cautiously opened the entrance to Artemis's tent. "My lady?" She called, a hint of uncertainty in her tone. "Are you in here?"

"Come in." The voice was quiet, almost a whisper.

The pair of children of the big three entered the tent slowly, as if they were approaching a rabid animal, or a bomb. "Percy stormed away, so we couldn't talk to him." Thalia began, trying to keep her tonality calm and soothing. "He's really volatile when he gets like this. So, my lady, if I may ask, what happened during the conversation you two had?"

Artemis sighed, regret evident in her somber expression. "Thalia, I don't admit my mistakes often. Here, I am afraid, I made a mistake."

The daughter of Zeus moved her arms in a 'go on' motion, encouraging her mistress to enlighten the two of them on what her mistake was. "Perseus and I were in a… heated discussion regarding whether or not to allow the son of Hades to travel with us. My argument was that if he stayed with us, it would attract larger monsters. He said that di Angelo would help us fight them, and that if I was unsure of the huntresses' abilities, I could take them and leave the boys to fight the monsters. I grew angry; he insulted my sisters, after all, and said that he had no idea what they had been through in their time. I told him that what they had been through was much more than him losing his 'petty teen crush.'"

"That was dumb." Nico blurted out, before he could stop himself.

Artemis's silver eyes darted over to the boy, glaring fiery daggers at him. "I would watch my tongue, if I were you, di Angelo."

The son of Hades swallowed once, before speaking again. "Lady Artemis, with all due respect, that was not a smart thing to say. I know Percy. He is definitely the closest thing to true family I have. I was with him when he bathed in the River Styx. To bathe in the Styx, you have to think about something that will tie you to the mortal world. Percy thought about Annabeth. You gods always preach about how heroes have fatal flaws, well Percy's was loyalty. If he believed it would have helped Annabeth, then that dumbass would have crawled through Tartarus."

Artemis stood to her feet, prepared to turn the son of Hades into a jackalope, but Thalia held her arm out to stop her. "My lady, he is right. Percy might not be the brightest person, but he held his heart on his sleeve, and he loved fiercely. If I know anything about Percy Jackson, I know he loved Annabeth."

The goddess inhaled, still slightly angry, then exhaled slowly. "Fine. I suppose we should go find Perseus, then."

The trio left the tent, and as soon as they were outside, Artemis called, "HUNTERS!"

Her maiden compatriots slowly assembled, followed by the demigods, who filed in last. "Perseus Jackson has left camp. He should be nearby. Spread out and find him."

A cackling sound came from behind the treeline, and a feminine voice called out, "I'm afraid you'll never get the chance."

A beautiful woman walked out of the forest, wearing a white dress. "Oh damn." Leo muttered under his breath. "Why don't we get the pretty girls on our side?" Piper elbowed him in the side.

"Khione." Artemis snarled, drawing a hunting knife. "You will regret threatening an Olympian."

The dark-haired woman smirked, placing a hand on her hip. "Will I?"

Khione snapped once, and Artemis was enveloped by a blizzard of snow. When it dissipated, the goddess of the hunt was frozen in place. This time, the goddess of snow flicked her wrist, sending an icy gust toward the party of demigods.

As it neared them, however, it seemed to hit a wall, the ice melting. "Huh." She muttered, her eyes finding Leo. "A fire user. Those are always interesting."

The Hispanic half-blood raised his hands in a non threatening gesture, "Lady, I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

She sneered at him, before turning to the woods, "Come, my friends." A legion of monsters, easily quadrupling the collection of demigods, entered the clearing, ready for battle. She smirked. "Charge."

With a roar, the monster army stormed toward the demigods, intent on destruction. Thalia raced forward to meet them, leveling her spear and carving a line through the enemy with a blast of electricity. She summoned Aegis, deflecting an attack from an empousai.

Thalia took advantage of the off-balance beast, darting in with her spear and stabbing it through the chest.

"Yah!" The daughter of Zeus glanced up, spotting a large hellhound leaping above the rest. Riding the beast, she found her cousin, Nico di Angelo, wielding his stygian iron sword.

A Scythian dracanae took advantage of Thalia's inattentiveness, slashing downwards with her blade and cutting a deep gash in Thalia's spear arm. "Agh!" She gasped in pain, stumbling backwards.

The monster remained on the offensive, advancing toward the lieutenant. She struck again, but Thalia raised her shield to guard against this attack. "Ugh!" The force of the blow caused the daughter of Zeus to grunt, her feet sliding in the damp grass.

A cry of pain rang out, and Thalia peeked out from behind Aegis. Alexis stood there, knife in hand, a smile on her face. 'A daughter of Ares at heart,' the lieutenant thought. The sparkle in the huntress's eyes turned to shock, and she fell forward to the earth.

Thalia looked down, finding a spike protruding from Alexis's back. Her eyes flicked back up, and she found the manticore standing in front of her. "I remember you, girl." It growled, its tail flicking around absentmindedly.

It shot another spike at her, but Thalia was ready. She raised her shield, catching this one, and charged, using Aegis to guard herself as she did so. She reached the manticore, stabbing at it with her spear. The beast's tail wrapped around the weapon, jerking it away from Thalia.

She growled, drawing a hunting knife as the manticore snapped her spear. She pointed the dagger at the creature, shooting a line of electricity at it. The monster sidestepped, leaving her blast to strike a cyclops in between its eyes.

The manticore took advantage of Thalia's brief shock, whipping its tail at her over and over again. It struck Aegis multiple times, driving the daughter of Zeus back as it did so. Finally, Thalia lost her grip, and the shield was flung away as the monster whacked it.

The daughter of Zeus stood alone, only a hunting knife in hand, as the monster approached her. She was clearly weakened, but Thalia would not give up the fight. The lieutenant of Artemis stabbed at the manticore with her dagger, and it laughed as it deflected the blade with its tail. The long, scaly weapon flicked upwards, creating a bloody gash in Thalia's cheek.

The force of the strike threw the daughter of Zeus to the dirt, and she spat once. "Such strong blood. I will relish this victory for a long while, Ms. Grace. In fact, I believe you might be my greatest kill yet." He stalked toward the grounded lieutenant.

A cry of rage came from high above all of them, and Thalia turned her head to see Percy Jackson fly in from above the tree line, crashing to the ground with a low 'boom.' The impact of the landing caused many monsters and demigods to fall to the ground, but the manticore remained upright.

The son of Poseidon rose to his feet, charging at the creature. The manticore realized this was a fight he could not win, and began to backpedal. It tripped over its tail, collapsing to the earth. "Please," the monster pleaded pathetically, raising a hand as if to keep Percy at bay, "Spare me."

The immortal's face was a deep scowl, and he whapped the manticore's hand away with the flat of his blade. "You should never have come here." The son of Poseidon drove the tip of his sword through the monster's neck, killing it.

Percy turned around and saw the monsters trying to regain their footing. "NO!" He shouted, causing an earthquake to occur in the small clearing.

The creatures fell to the ground once again, and the son of Poseidon scanned the campsite for Nico. The son of Hades found his eyes, taking the hint. He plunged his stygian iron sword into the ground, opening a large crevice which swallowed all of the monsters. Except for one.

Percy stalked toward the goddess of snow as she tried to regain her footing and scramble away. She got to her feet, but the son of Poseidon caught her by the shoulder. "I don't think so."

He spun her around, lifting the minor goddess by her neck. Khione gasped, trying to regain air. "Ple-Please." She sputtered.

Percy gripped her throat tighter, "Tell your master if wants an audience with me, all he needs to do is ask. However, if he wants to kill me, I would prefer he do it in person."

The son of Poseidon threw the goddess to the ground. Khione wheezed, desperately intaking oxygen. "Now get out of my sight."

 **Ok so yeah. I wanted to get to 21000 words, but i got bored and i figured this was a good way to end the chapter. tell me what you think, and if you dont like it, tell me why. LTS**


	4. Chapter 4

" **Ugh."** Thalia groggily raised herself to a standing position, using her hands to get up, and spat out a glob of blood.

Almost immediately a wave of nausea overcame her, and her legs wobbled underneath herself. Percy rushed over, looping one of her arms around his shoulders. "Slow down there, Pinecone Face."

Thalia growled, glaring at her cousin, causing him to chuckle. "Glad you made it in time for the brawl."

He laughed, louder this time, and replied back, "Wouldn't miss it for the world, Thals."

She giggled in response, and the son of Poseidon continued to help his cousin to the infirmary tent. Once they entered the small structure, Percy's eyes darted throughout the room, taking a quick inventory of those being tended to. There were three wounded huntresses, one with a bandage around her head, two with body wounds, and Leo and Jason were also healed.

Piper was working on Leo-Jason already having been aided and was now in a deep slumber-and the Hispanic half-blood did not seem to appreciate the girl's attempts to help.

"Ow!" he whined, wincing and flinching away as she worked on a gash in his arm. "Damn that smarts!"

"Well maybe if you hadn't been such a dumbass and gotten yourself cut like this, I wouldn't have to sew you up." She grumbled, her irritation at his complaints evident in her tone.

Percy helped Thalia over to the bed next to the pair of demigods, allowing the daughter of Zeus to get onto the cot by herself. "Hey," he tapped Piper on the shoulder, drawing her attention, "I'll handle him, and you go get some rest. We'll probably be back on the road in a little while."

The daughter of Aphrodite let out a sigh of relief, a weary smile adorning her features, "Thanks, Percy. You should probably knock out pretty soon, too."

The immortal grinned back, "I'll make sure to do that."

She nodded and plodded off to her tent, leaving Percy to attend to his cousin and the son of Hephaestus. "Thanks dude," Leo grinned crookedly at him, brushing some hair out of his face, "She's a butcher with a needle."

The son of Poseidon let out a snort, which caused Thalia to giggle as well. "Kid, if you're gonna live a demigod life, you're gonna get a lot more than that paper cut."

The Hispanic boy's smile vanished, and was replaced by a perplexed look. "What do you mean by that?" He asked in a worried tone.

Percy just laughed and shook his head, controlling some of the water from a nearby bowl and using it to heal Leo's wound. Once he was done, he backed away from the son of Hephaestus, motioning for him to leave the infirmary. "Go. Get some sleep. By the time you wake up, we'll probably want to start moving again, so take advantage of the break while you can."

Leo scurried out of the tent, leaving Percy to see to Thalia's wounds. As he approached her, the lieutenant frowned. "Hey." She stopped him, grasping his cheeks with her hands. She tilted his head upward, trying to get a better look at his neck.

She growled, her eyes darkening and a scowl growing onto her face. "Who?" She questioned.

Percy brought his face back down, stopping her from observing his neck anymore. "It's nothing. While I was gone, I met someone, and we got into a little spat. Everything's fine now." He looked into Thalia's eyes, trying to calm her down.

"Who?!" Her voice was louder this time, and she left no room for debate on whether or not he would answer the question.

Percy sighed, and began to tell the story. "Her name was Lamia. She's a monster; a daughter of Hecate. She thought the best way to get rid of the problem that is me was through asphyxiation. I proved her wrong, and she met the business end of an ice shard. I'll heal, but right now, priority is your injuries."

Thalia's eyes softened, and she wrapped her cousin up in a hug. "I don't like people hurting my family, and you're the closest thing I have after Annie died. You need to promise me that you'll be careful, okay little brother?"

Percy scoffed at the 'little brother' comment, but hugged his cousin in return, nonetheless. "I promise, Thals. Children of the big three watch out for each other, remember? Now, let's get a look at these cuts."

Thalia pulled out of the hug, smiling warmly at the son of Poseidon, before tilting her face and allowing him to get a view of the gash in her cheek. Percy began healing the wound using water, and as he did so, he began laughing.

"What?" Thalia asked, a hint of laughter in her voice.

"Remember when we first met the manticore?" He responded, still laughing.

"Duh. You wanted to be the hero, so you ran off to try and fight it by yourself, like the Kelp Head that you are." The daughter of Zeus was nearly guffawing now.

Percy removed his hands from her cheek, the wound now healed, and continued the joke. "And then we met Nico, who thought I was a god, and started asking me a bunch of questions. I swear I wanted to kick his ass. What was that game he was really in to? Mimic magic?"

"Mythomagic, Perce." Nico strolled up, his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face. "And I had a legendary collection."

Thalia was holding her sides at this point, "Good gods," she wheezed, "You were SUCH a nerd."

The son of Hades flushed red, and he responded to her comment. "In my defense, my only friend at that time was my sister."

Percy was laughing so hard that he was bent over, hands on his knees, roaring with laughter. "Nico, buddy, you are not helping your case right now."

The son of Hades just shrugged, beaming at his two cousins. The few remaining huntresses in the tent stared at them judgmentally, but the three of them paid them no mind.

"AHEM." Artemis loudly cleared her throat, somewhat annoyed by the mannerisms of her demigod cousins.

Thalia was the first to straighten up, "My lady," she began, bowing her head from her upright position on the bed, "what can we do for you?"

The goddess remained stoic until the two males were calm again, before inhaling and speaking. "I wish to converse with Perseus." When no one moved from their positions, she continued her statement. "Alone."

The remaining huntresses in the tent scurried out, and Thalia and Nico attempted to leave. Percy held his arms out to his sides, blocking any forward movement from his cousins. "If there is something you wish to say to me, Lady Artemis, I believe it is more than reasonable that Thalia and Nico be present to hear it."

Artemis growled, her eyes narrowing. The son of Poseidon would make this difficult. She forced a smile, her eyes glaring at the other immortal in the room. "I don't believe that is necessary."

Percy smiled right back at her, his slightly less aggressive and responded calmly. "Well, I do. Now, by all means, continue."

She growled louder this time, but closed her eyes and took a moment to compose herself. "I wish to… apologize for my behavior in our earlier conversation. The statement that I made was not relevant to the topic we were discussing, and it was… excessive of me to insult your personal emotions."

Percy grinned this time, genuinely, because he knew how much it pained a god, much more an Olympian, to swallow their pride and apologize. "Thank you, Lady Artemis. I know how difficult that must have been for you."

The goddess looked slightly pained, but gave a stiff nod, turning and hurrying off.

* * *

" **Was I really this annoying when you first met me?"** Nico leaned in so only Percy and Thalia could hear, referencing the talkative child of Hephaestus.

The lieutenant snorted, and the son of Poseidon shrugged. "Eh. It's kind of hard to compare, because you're both 'I talk a lot' annoying, but Leo is the 'bad jokes' variant of annoying. You were 'overly curious and asks a lot of questions' annoying. Little column A, and little column B I suppose."

"Stay alert." Artemis warned, her eyes scanning the horizon as the group moved. "We're getting close."

Percy snorted, "I don't think we're in much danger, Lady Artemis. It's going to be very difficult to take a group this large in public; even monsters have to realize that."

Nico shot a dirty look at him, "Hey!" He protested. "They took me right outside of the Empire State Building!"

The son of Poseidon met his glance, trying to acknowledge that he had heard his cousin's statement. "I realize that. My point is that it's easier to capture one demigod, no matter how powerful they may be, than it is to capture fourteen of them."

Artemis winced, but it was not enough for anyone to notice her discomfort. There had been thirteen huntresses, excluding herself, but they had lost four in the most recent battle. She stopped walking, but no one seemed to notice as she was lost in her thoughts.

"Lady Artemis?" The goddess snapped out of her stupor, her eyes darting up to find two kaleidoscopic-colored orbs staring at her. "Forgive my intrusion, but you seemed distracted. Is everything alright?"

The Olympian sighed in relief, glad that there was no further confrontation toward her at the moment. "It has been a stressful week, child. But worry not, we will get through this. I recommend you and your friends stay close to Jackson. He has a knack for surviving trouble."

The aforementioned son of Poseidon apparently caught wind of the conversation, slowing down to fall into stride with the two women. "I'm afraid that won't be possible."

Artemis glanced up at him, slightly annoyed, and slightly perplexed. "And why might that be, Jackson? Are you above traveling with untrained demigods?"

Percy laughed at this accusation, throwing his head back, "No, no. Nothing like that. This mystery man seems to have a grudge against me. I don't know why, but powerful people just seem to have it out for me. I'm not going to let anyone get hurt because I wasn't good enough to protect them."

Thalia stopped abruptly, and Artemis would have crashed into her had she not possessed Olympian reflexes. The daughter of Zeus turned slowly, her fists clenching as she did so, hissing through gritted teeth. "What. Did. You. Just. Say?"

The son of Poseidon realized that she was extremely unhappy with his statement, so his expression grew serious. "I am not going to have anyone else die because they followed me into battle."

"DO NOT DISCREDIT ANNABETH'S BRAVERY! SHE MADE A DECISION TO GIVE HER LIFE FOR HER CAMP, AND YOU WILL NOT TAKE THAT AWAY FROM HER!" Thalia was blatantly screaming now. Winds were swirling around the two of them, faster than normal wind patterns. To increase the intensity even more, the daughter of Zeus had electricity shooting off of her in all directions, causing the surrounding parties to take a wide step away from the duo.

Percy stood his ground, his voice lowering to a visceral growl. "I would _never_ take anything away from her. And you know what? If I had a chance to go back, I would have given my life for her, one hundred times over. She was a far greater hero than I could ever hope to be. But it was MY fault that she died! I don't want anyone else dying because I wasn't good enough!"

Thalia took a deep breath, the wind and static decreasing slightly, but it was still clear she was not happy. "What do you mean 'it was your fault that she died'?"

The son of Poseidon sighed, then ran a lone hand over his face, collecting his thoughts. He had visibly grown less angry, and now just seemed crestfallen. "It was my plan." He whispered, slumping to the ground.

He pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. "It was my plan." He breathed, staring blankly into the distance.

Thalia took slow breaths, attempting to calm herself down. She crouched down to look Percy in the eyes. "What do you mean, 'It was my plan?'"

The immortal took a deep breath. Slowly exhaled, he met his cousin's demanding eyes. "We were losing the battle. I knew it. She knew it. Everyone in that damned camp knew it. We needed to take out the leader if we had wanted any chance at survival. I told her I would take him from the front while she went invisible. I told her to stab him in the back when she saw an opening. When I went in to engage him, I was beaten. Easily. He threw me back, then whirled around, and he stabbed her right through the stomach."

"It wasn't your fault." Thalia's electric blue orbs were fierce, and she glared right at Percy.

The son of Poseidon's eyes were sorrowful, and he didn't believe a word she said. "Yes it is. I should have been stronger. I could have saved her."

"No, you couldn't. This is isn't a matter of strength. You were facing someone more skillful of than any of us. Annabeth knew what she was doing. You are at your best when you're angry. She knew that the quickest way to get you mad was to have something happen to her. She sacrificed herself so that her friends would survive. And you're not going to take that away from her." Thalia stood to her full height, striding away from the whole party in the direction of the Empire State Building. "I'll see you on Olympus."

"Thalia, wait!" Nico called after her, holding an arm out in her direction.

The daughter of Zeus didn't halt her gait, instead raising her right arm in the air, her middle finger extended.

 **So, I wanted to give reviewers a little more appreciation for what they write in, and this happened:**

 **ArthurShade- I appreciate the badassery in life, as well.**

 **JustLucky05- I think that last chapter was my favorite so far. You'll have to wait and see what happens with Pertemis.**

 **NightOwl95- I've gotten some of that. I had to kill off Annabeth cause it would give me a reason to go all BAMF with Percy during the story.**

 **Defective Wolf- Thanks for the correction. I realized I was wrong sometime last week but i forgot to correct myself.**

 **Guest- Um, thanks for the review. However, saying 'more please' is not likely to elicit quicker or better writing from me. In fact, flames motivate me more than 'more please.'**

 **I'm sorry this is such a short chapter. Next chapter will most likely be the longest one yet, if all goes as planned. I had some writing block at the end here, and I am also trying to come up with ideas for a nerdy game I play with some friends of mine. Writing Percy/Thalia family fluff is definitely the best part of my writing process. Uh, yeah. Thanks for reviewing, and keep doing that thing that you do. Hope you enjoyed**

 **LTS**


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